Freddie and the Fate of Number 7
by bbll22
Summary: Fearless Freddie has always known of another similar engine who was on the railway before him, but he only knows their number, which is 7. He wants to find out what happened to number 7 as he replaced him, but will Freddie's quest answer the question?


Lee's Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends

Stories

**Freddie and the Fate of Number 7**

Fearless Freddie has always known that before him, there was another engine just like him. No-one ever speaks of that engine anymore and Freddie wonders why. All he knows about that engine was that they were the Number 7 on the railway at the time, but he wants to know more, but he's too shy to ask the other engines about Number 7, so he'll never know about the fate Number 7 suffered. However, Freddie has now decided that he definitely wants to find out what happened, or else Number 7 might be forgotten forever.

The next morning, Freddie set out on his quest for information by asking as many of the engines who were there at the time about Number 7, but he didn't get much information at all. All he got was that he was a good friend to everyone and that he was painted in the traditional Red and Blue colour scheme for the railway at the time. Freddie did ask about what Number 7's name was, but no-one told him, not even Duke, which surprised him greatly.  
"This is getting nowhere" he said to himself at the sheds that afternoon. Freddie's driver was unaware of what he had been doing, so when he saw him upset in the sheds, it was very odd indeed.

"What's the matter Freddie?" he asked with concern.

"I can't get any information about him!" Freddie replied.

"Information about who?" quickly questioned his driver.

"Number 7!" cried Freddie.

"You mean Ivo Hugh..." replied his driver.

"Who did you say?" questioned Freddie.

"Ivo Hugh" replied his driver.

"Ivo Who?" questioned Freddie.

"Number 7!" cried his driver once he'd lost his patience. "Ivo Hugh was number 7!" he then declared.  
"Oh..." replied Freddie simply. It took him a moment to comprehend this new-found information, but Freddie now knew more about Number 7 than he ever had before. This made him extremely happy.  
"Is that all you were worried about?" questioned his driver.

"I want to meet him!" replied Freddie "I replaced him on this railway, and then my major accident meant I never originally got to fit in here. Now I have fit in, I want to find out more about the engine I replaced." he continued. His driver looked on proud at Freddie, and all he could say was:

"Maybe one day Freddie...maybe one day..."

That night at the sheds Freddie was next to Duke and immediately asked about Ivo Hugh as he felt he could no longer keep it within him.

"So..." started Freddie "...where exactly did Ivo Hugh go?" Gasps were heard as Freddie asked this, and they mainly came from Sir Handel, Peter Sam and Rusty.  
"Well..." said Duke in a very surprised tone. "well...he left due to reasons we don't want to talk about really..." finished Duke. Freddie felt both annoyed and sad at the same time as he wanted to find out about Ivo Hugh, but he didn't want to bring back bad memories for everyone else.  
"Don't worry though..." continued Sir Handel. "He left in good condition. He didn't leave in any pain at all..."  
"He did what was best for him" added Peter Sam.

"And we respected his decision..." concluded Rusty. Freddie felt much better now, but he still couldn't contain the bit of information he hadn't told anyone else.

"Tomorrow I seeing Mr. Percival to see if we can bring him back!" he declared proudly. Gasps yet again were heard in the shed but Freddie didn't mind.

"We haven't got enough room for anymore engines, Freddie." said June thoughtfully.

"We'll make the room!" he replied.

"That's just like the old Freddie!" said Duke. "The Freddie before the accident. We did miss you greatly, and I feel sorry for never saying before."  
"Thankyou Duke! I know were low on space but look it can be done again. Determination got you back Duke and hope from us all and especially from you Skarloey got Neil back." said Freddie emphatically. The others agreed, and so it was now done. In the morning, Mr. Percival would hopefully arrange Ivo Hugh's return.

Morning rose and the birds sang as the engines rose from their sleep deep within their minds that an old friend could be on their way back. Everyone was seemingly high spirits at this prospect, even Duke. He'd even gone for a little trip to find Bertrum the Old Warrior and tell him of the news.

"Oh wow...that is just wonderful!" said Bertrum. "I'll make sure I'm there for his return. He was a good engine, and an even greater friend!"

"Indeed." agreed Duke. He then left to get his work done while everyone else carried on with their days work, well except Freddie who was at the siding beside Mr. Percival's office. Mr. Percival didn't know what he was seeing Freddie about, so it would be surprising indeed. The office door opened, and out stepped Mr. Percival who looked his normal happy self.

"So Freddie...what have you come to see me about?" he asked.

"Well..." replied Freddie "Erm...I was wondering if we could possibly bring back Ivo Hugh..." Mr. Percival's eyes opened wide and with a stunned expression, he replied:

"Whatever for?" Freddie was surprised at this reply.

"I want to know what happened to him. I want to know why I replaced him." he then replied. Mr. Percival then became more serious in tone.

"Ivo Hugh is currently on another railway. I doubt he could come permanently Freddie, I do doubt that, but if I telephone his controller then hopefully I will be able to make him visit."  
"Oh that would be brilliant, Sir!" replied Freddie. A smile was now very visible on him and he couldn't help but let it show.

"Come on boy!" called his driver. "Lets tell everyone the good news!" Freddie then set off to the sheds where everyone met up at breaktime. As they all gathered, they could see Freddie's beaming smile, so they instantly got the message and cheers from the engines began. Then all of a sudden, Mr. Percival's bike whistle was heard. It rang several times as he rode into the sheds. Everyone instantly fell silent.  
"By the look on your faces I can tell Freddie has given you the good news! However, he may not have mentioned that Ivo Hugh is only visiting. He belongs to another railway now, but I have managed to get him to visit us for 3 days. He will be arriving tomorrow morning, so I do expect us to be on our best behaviour!" he boomed very proudly. Once he'd finished, the engines cheered again and whistled their whistles and blew their horns as loud as they could. Mr. Percival could only smile at their enthusiasm, and then he made his way back to his office.

Early next morning on the rails of Sodor chugged a sound that hadn't been heard in years. The sound got louder as the engine neared his old home and everyone else was so excited about his visit. The crisp sun glistened alongside Ivo Hugh's red and blue paint and made him look very important indeed. He may have aged, but he still had that youthful will to work, his smile was wider than it had been for years as he neared the beginning of Mr. Percival's railway. Then as he joined the line, he blew whistle, and blew it loud to let everyone know he was here.  
"It's him!" cried Freddie.  
"This is very odd indeed..." added Duke as everyone was lined up around the sheds expectantly for Ivo Hugh's arrival. Even the engines that didn't know him were very excited indeed.

"A new engine!" called Mighty.

"Brilliant!" added Mac.

"Is he Scottish?" asked Duncan "If he is, I'm very happy!"  
"He isn't..." answered Neil. Duncan's smile immediately faded, but everyone else smiled as wide as they could as Ivo Hugh was just coming into view. Whistles and horns erupted very loudly as Ivo Hugh came to a halt and looked on at everyone. Before him was Duke, Freddie, Skarloey, Rheneas, Peter Sam, Sir Handel, June, Duncan, MightyMac, Rusty, Neil, Bertrum, Mr. Percival and the Fat Controller.  
"Blimey!" said Ivo Hugh. "What a welcome...I didn't expect this!"

"Nor did we..." said the Fat Controller.  
"It's good to see you back Ivo Hugh...we never forgot you!" said Duke. This brought a smile to Ivo Hugh and then one by one he was introduced by Mr. Percival and the Fat Controller to the engines on this railway. This took a while to get through but Ivo Hugh was more than happy to meet old friends and make new ones too. Then it came to the time when Ivo Hugh was introduced to Freddie.  
"Next is Fearless Freddie." said Mr. Percival.

"Same kind of engine as me...good choice!" said Ivo Hugh jokingly.

"Thankyou..." replied Freddie. They then got chatting and they moved on to finish the meet and greet, but Freddie was eager to ask why Ivo Hugh left in the first place. He then did.

"Excuse me, Ivo Hugh, but I was wondering why you originally left here all those years ago?" Silence fell and the engines, Mr. Percival and the Fat Controller were shocked that he had asked.

"Well..." began Ivo Hugh "My driver at the time, Stan was moving away to a new railway and he couldn't bear being separated away from me, the engine he'd enjoyed driving the most. So before he moved, he spoke to his new controller along with the controller here at the time to see if I could move there. They agreed and I left at the end of that month. Stan is still there to this day, but now I'm driven by his son, William." he finished. Freddie now understood why the engines didn't want to speak of his leaving a few days earlier as it was sad as they'd lost a dear friend, so bringing it back up would mean bringing back up old emotions. Everyone carried on talking for the rest of that day and enjoyed every moment of it.

The next couple of days flew by and before they knew it, Ivo Hugh had to return home. He'd been a great helper in these 3 days on the railway but he was an even greater friend and everyone treated him as if he was a permanent addition to the railway, they felt it a real shame that he wasn't. It was evening and the orange sky looked wonderful as everyone said their goodbyes to Ivo Hugh. Some had made a new friend and others reacquainted themselves with a good friend, but they all knew he would be missed. Freddie knew this especially, but he was glad to know who Number 7 really was and why he'd been brought in to the railway after his departure. He accepted this and as Ivo Hugh set off Freddie and everyone else joined in by saying.

"Ivo Hugh! You will never be forgotten! Never ever forgotten!" They whistled and blew their horns once more as Ivo Hugh slowly went out of sight and as he slowly chugged off back home Ivo Hugh thought fondly of his friends, and the fact that there was a group photo of all meant he would never forget them, never ever forget them.


End file.
